Friday, September 28, 2012

Don’t just “let freedom ring”, take a hand in
it. Get a grip, bear down, and ring freedom
for the world to hear. Clearly America’s collective conscience, as reflected by
our chosen leaders, requires constant scrutiny and surveillance. Even in a democracy of, by, and for the
people, justice and equality are only as perfect as the conscience of that
people. Even America’s grand and
glorious democracy reflects not only our goodness, but our greed. Freedom is not a privilege to be taken
lightly. Freedom is a right and a
responsibility, a perishable torch to be diligently tended and faithfully
passed along. Freedom burns within our
hearts, ignited by the founding fathers, and it falls to us to keep that flame
alive. America’s most trusted and time-honored institutions are only as
righteous as the hearts of our citizens, our most godly leaders, only as just
as the collective conscience of their constituents, and the most telling
measure of a nation’s heart is the compassion of its people. VOTE! SC

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Over the last few months, many have become
passionately caught up in partisan politics.
I’m as guilty as the rest. That’s probably as it should be; it’s an
important election. In a matter of weeks the election will be behind us. Some will be very happy, others will
not. Regardless of who wins, the business
of government will no doubt continue, and we’ll be left to redirect our passion.
As important to our country’s future as the results of those hard fought
elections, is how we choose to reinvest that passion. There is much that is good about this remarkable
country. There is much that is great. My
plan following the election is to reexamine what I like best about our great
nation, and then support it, celebrate it, and invest my time, energy, and passion
in it, until it’s the very best that my contribution can make it. If we all do
that, then America’s best days are indeed ahead, and our government of by and
for the people will shine a light for the whole world to see. SC

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Our arrival was initially inauspicious
and our very survival dubious, but those species which had preceded us were,
for the most part, innocuous, and it was soon apparent that, through cunning
and cautious persistence, we might prevail. Although seasonal extremes
occasionally proved challenging, careful planning and frugality were generally adequate
to guarantee day by day survival and thus success. By the artful gathering and eventual
domestication and propagation of both flora and fauna, our basic needs were
soon sufficiently satisfied to afford a degree of security and increasingly plentiful
periods of leisure time, allowing for the pursuit of what we will charitably
call our more base desires. Our numbers
soon swelled accordingly and exponentially, as did the threat we now posed to
one another and the very environment which sustained us. Despite our initial admiration
and appreciation for the bounty with which we were blessed, over time we became
increasingly unappreciative, to the point of wanton destruction and deliberate
and premeditated waste. As we achieved numbers which eventually outstripped our
now fragile environments abilities to provide, those who were able enjoyed
lavish excesses and profited without constraint as their abilities afforded. The
less fortunate eventually succumbed to want, deprivation, and despair. This
condition persisted and degenerated, ending as degenerations inevitably
do. In the end, it was our very numbers
that proved unsustainable. Our appetites
and desires now insatiable, we eventually devoured the host that gave us
suckle. We leave behind our sincere best wishes for any who follow, the little,
leather-bound witness that provided our hope, and this fervent admonition: That
any who follow consider well our easily anticipated plight, avoiding at all
cost the poor judgment, callas unconcern, and total and blatant disregard for
justice and propriety which, for the attentive ear, were the unmistakable harbingers
of our doom. May God richly bless you, your desire be to serve, and your
calling, that of benefactor to God’s creatures great and small.